Woman sues Woodland Hills hair salon over pot-laced cookie

Share this:

A longtime patron of a Woodland Hills hair salon has sued the establishment, alleging a cookie she picked up from a hospitality tray contained THC, the drug by-product for marijuana. (Photo by Olga Grigoryants/Los Angeles Daily News)

The Calabasas resident, who had been a Blush customer for 15 years, states in the suit that she hadn’t eaten all day on Oct. 4 when she visited the salon for beauty services. As she was leaving the place, located at 22539 Ventura Blvd., she grabbed a cookie from a hospitality tray.

Within an hour, the lawsuit reads, she experienced “a severe reaction, including hallucinations, rapid heart beat, confusion, disorientation, light-headedness, dizziness, blurred vision, tingling, a headache and nausea … She found herself unable to speak or had delayed speech and was completely incapacitated.”

Nickerson noted she thought she had a stroke or heart attack and sought assistance at West Hills Hospital.

A blood test was positive for “dangerously high levels of THC,” the chemical that triggers most of marijuana’s psychological effects, the lawsuit states.

Goldberg put the cost of the medical tests at about $46,000. “Jo Ann is doing well,” he said. “She is angry and outraged that salon has not accepted any responsibility and that she has to go through this alone.”

According to the lawsuit, the baked goods that allegedly triggered Nickerson’s symptoms were home-baked and brought to the salon by its owners and employees to promote the shop’s image as a warm and friendly place.

Nickerson’s complaint says that she had never used marijuana “for any purpose at any time.”